What if
by RandomShinny
Summary: HP/glee cross over. Brittany pulls Quinn aside. The two share a conversation Quinn never imagined she'd be having; certainly not with this girl, of all people. Established Brittana and Faberry. Triggers: Homophobic bullying, abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is what happens when you are in the middle of reading an awesome fic and you suddenly get a rush of inspiration and your imagination runs away from you. I haven't written any real fanfiction in two years and when this hit me and I had to write it out. I was reading G3n3ralRedfield's very entertaining fic, Pay Attention Fabray!, which I totally recommend by the way, and it features an [SPOILER-read lower***-]Quinn and there was a line thrown in there somewhere about how Santana had kept her suspicions her herself and would never tell Brittany because it would hurt her too much. Well my mind got to wandering and I love the bittersweet, so I was thinking: Well, what if Santana had been worried for no reason, thinking she was protecting the girl, when really she already knew what was wrong with Quinn? Because she knew from experience? Enter [SPOILER-read lower***]!Britt. Established Brittana and Faberry.**

**So when it comes down to it, this really ended up being an AU of an AU crossover fic.**

**And a huge THANK YOU to **G3n3ralRedfield** for being so cool and letting me go with this XD  
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***Abused

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Glee or harry Potter. :(**

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><p>"Quinn," Brittany placed her shoulders on the slightly shorter girl's shoulders. "There is something I'm going to show you." They were alone in a broom closet in the astronomy tower; Santana and Rachel were both currently busy working on last minute Potions and Charms essays and Brittany took advantage of the opportunity.<p>

It was nearly impossible to get mad at the blonde, but Quinn felt that she was getting close but, more than that she was anxious. Earlier, before she had dragged her all the way up to this secluded spot, Brittany had given her a look. One that said that she knew something about her that Quinn never wanted anyone to know.

"I just want you to know that I understand." Quinn had yet to say anything, but at the sight of her friend loosening her tie and undoing the top few buttons of her shirt she spoke up, or at least tried to.

"What are-" She was cut off by Brittany raising her hand in a 'just wait' gesture. With that she turned around and slid her shirt off her shoulders and reviled the top of her back. There along her back was a scar running diagonal from her left down to the right, it was at least seven inches.

At this Quinn was thoroughly confused. She knew for a fact that Santana most definitely would know about this scar and that she most definitely would have gone crazy on whoever was responsible, but she could not remember a time that ever happened. Plus, she couldn't understand how this had anything to do with what she thought she was dragged here to discuss. Maybe she was wrong about the look she was given. God she hoped so.

"Britt what happened? How did you get that..? And, what does it have to do with…" She trailed off, still hoping that she was wrong. When Brittany didn't say anything she tried again. "Why haven't I ever seen Santana fuming over this? Because I know for a fact she would know about this…" Her rambling was cut off by Brittany shrugging her shirt back on and turning around.

"That's because I got it before I transferred here," That didn't really change things in Quinn's mind, Santana would have still demanded to know who had caused it and would have been mad for some time, it didn't matter if she couldn't actually do anything to the person responsible. It's just how she was when it came to Brittany.

"That doesn't really change things all that much, Britt. We both know-" She started. Almost as if she could read her mind Brittany spoke up again.

"I lied." Well that was interesting. Quinn raised one of her eyebrows and gave her a look. Everyone knew that Brittany couldn't lie, and if anyone could see through even the most crafted lie from the girl it would have been Santana. Besides, the few times the taller blonde has ever tried to lie, it had always been to protect someone who deserved it and this was not the result of someone's actions that deserved protecting. "Okay, so I didn't lie exactly, I just never really elaborated."

Brittany had finished buttoning up her shirt while leaving her tie loose and took a seat on one of the stairs. Quinn just remained standing, looking at her while trying to shake the feeling that she was going to find something out about her friend that would lead right back to the original topic she was afraid this meeting is about. After a minute or so of silence Brittany continued.

"When San first saw it I could tell by her tone of voice that she was about to get angry and freaking out, so when she asked I shrugged and said that I had gotten it during Quidditch practice at Beauxbatons. She didn't seem too convinced at first, but I said it so passively that she took it. If she had any doubts after that she never said anything to me and it seems she never asked you about it. We all know I can be a little spacy, and being spacy on a broom _can_ cause accidents." Her tone said that she didn't really believe that this sort of scar would have come about in any normal sort of practice, but Quinn didn't say anything about it.

Quinn was trying to think one step ahead, trying to figure out when and how this was going to end up being about her and at the same time trying to slow her heart which was slowly speeding up. A part of her really feared hearing what Brittany had failed to elaborate on.

"See, I didn't lie because I was really out on the Quidditch pitch practicing, I just never said anything about the girls that showed up." A beat passed while Brittany found a particularly interesting spot on her shoe to stare at while she continued.

"These girls had found out that I liked girls and hadn't taken it too well. They had been harassing me since the beginning of the year. At first it was just words in passing, never anyone around, but still just in passing. Slowly it escalated to violence…"

"Britt..," It came out barely a whisper and she was sure Brittany hadn't heard her. She wasn't even entirely sure she had said it all. Brittany continued uninhibited.

"They had started to corner me, but it was okay. For a while it was just bumps and bruises from being shoved or tripped. They were the kind that I could go to the infirmary and tell them that I had tripped on my robes or got during Quidditch practice, which is exactly what I did. I mean that happened too, mostly from practice, so they didn't really ask questions." Quinn wanted to speak up and ask her why she didn't tell anyone what was going on, but she couldn't seem to find her voice. Instead she continued to look down at her friend from her spot near the wall, seeing her in a different light. Brittany was no longer looking at her shoe but rather was glancing around, trying to find something to recapture her interest.

"Eventually it got to the point where I couldn't always go to the infirmary because it would have been too obvious that my injuries weren't from any accident that I had gotten into. But they were smart because they didn't hurt me in places that were really visible, like my face. Let's just say that I was glad no one had to see me with my shirt off."

Images of Brittany with a battered ribcage flashed across her mind. How anyone could ever harass Brittany, let alone abuse her was beyond Quinn's imagination. Brittany was the kindest and most sincere person she had ever met and the least deserving of this kind of treatment. How Brittany had never said anything about this or showed signs any of this ever took place escaped her. Her heart was starting to break for her friend.

"They said terrible things to me Q… I know people say Santana is a bad person, but she not. She can say mean things to people sometimes, but she's not. These girls were bad people..," her voice waivered slightly, giving away the first sign that talking about this was starting to bother her. She finally glanced at her friend and all Quinn could do was to nod her head. She understood that much. There was a long pause before she continued.

"It was a particularly nice evening and I was out at the Quidditch pitch practicing a few runs by myself. It was a Friday evening so most of the girls were in the small village near the school. It's kind of like Hogsmead; smaller, but just as popular. There was only three weeks left of school, Q, and I hadn't been harassed in some time and was enjoying it the best way I knew how." At this Brittany gave a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Quinn couldn't shake how wrong that looked on the blonde.

"When they showed up I thought that it was going to just be an encounter like any other…" At this Brittany started playing with her tie anxiously.

_Brittany was lying down on the soft grass of the Quidditch pitch, tossing a quaffle up in the air and catching it over and over, staring at the sky lazily. She had just finished doing some runs and practicing for the better part of the afternoon. The night was quickly approaching and she knew that she should get back to the school, but couldn't bring herself to get up and leave. After little thought, she decided that a bit of star gazing was in order._

_ News that Quidditch was being discontinued at Beauxbatons had hit the blonde hard; it was the only thing she had left at this school. She could forget all about her tormenters and get lost in the game. They could reach her anywhere but here and she worried how she would cope without it. She was trying not to think about it though, not now, rather she wanted to enjoy the time she had left on the pitch. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she never heard the approaching steps._

_ "Accio broom!" Suddenly Brittany whipped her head to the side, just in time to see her broom fly into the hands of Bethilda Jenkins. 'Oh, God..,' Brittany thought, 'they found me here, why here, of all places?'_

_ Quickly Brittany got to her feet, the quaffle all but forgotten. She quickly glanced around, careful not to look anywhere but there feet. They were always meaner if she accidentally did. All four had come down to the pitch and suddenly the small hope she had that they would have been done for the year vanished._

_ "What do you think you are doing out here, Pierce?" Brittany recognized the voice; it was Jenna Weston, the one who always seemed to lead the group. She saw Jenna take another step closer to her and she swallowed, a lump suddenly growing in her throat._

_ "What are you doing here, Jenna?" she asked her voice shaky despite her attempts to keep calm._

_ "Don't get smart with me Pierce." She replied, her tone slightly more threatening than it had been before. "I asked you what you think you are doing out here? And, you'll answer when I ask you a question." Suddenly Brittany felt a shove on her shoulder and it caused her to stumble back. When she did, she accidentally looked up and caught the piercing green gaze of her biggest tormentor and knew instantly it was a mistake. "What, the hell do you think you are looking at? Don't you dare look at me again!" Another shove. This time Brittany had turned her head to the side for good measure._

_ "Nothing," She finally got out, her body was starting to tremble, and she couldn't control it. It had become her body's automatic response to these situations. She could hear Bethilda and the other two laughing. But, Brittany knew that something was off this time, Jenna was getting mad quicker than usual. Normally she would spend more time mocking and jeering at her before the anger and 'punishment'. In the back of her mind something was telling her that though she had never used her wand on another, she shouldn't have left it in her Quidditch locker._

_ "You never answered her question, stupid." This time Helena Chambers was the one to speak. Everyone but Jenna laughed. Rather she just kept her gaze fixed on Brittany. She knew this because she could feel the older girl's eyes burning holes into the side of her head._

_ "Why…?" It came out so soft Brittany hadn't even realize that she had said it until she felt a pair of hands on her chest and her back colliding with the ground; hard._

_ "It's because you are a fucking dyke! That's why! What further explanation could you possibly need!"_

_ "Hey Jen..," It seemed that one of her friends knew that something was off with their friend this time as well. Brittany just kept her eyes screwed shut, she knew what came next._

_ "I thought that we had got it through your fucking head that that was why. No wonder everyone says you are stupid if you can't grasp a simple concept like that!" Then the kick that she had been expecting collided with her side. So did three more, before she felt Jenna's spit land on the back of her hand._

_ Brittany's breath was coming in short raged intervals; she was trying her hardest to make as little noise as possible since it only gave them more satisfaction. Jenna turned from Brittany and rounded on her friends. They were all quiet but Helena and Bethilda had smirks still planted on their faces, Bethilda seeming the most okay with this dangerously accelerated punishment._

_ "Helen, Katie you two hold her down while Beth and I play a little game of who can make her scream the loudest." Brittany's body started to shake more violently than before; Jenna had spoken so calmly that she for the first time actually started to fear for her life. They were far from the school without a soul around and it seemed like they were going to take full advantage of that._

_ Bethilda and Helena had both taken a step when Katie spoke up and her three friends stared at her. Katie, Helena's sister, was the only one who had never actually hit Brittany; rather she just held her down and participated in the verbal assault. "Jen, I...," her voice sounded slightly conflicted._

_ "What? Don't tell me you are starting to feel sorry for this abomination?" She laughed slightly, but it was hollow, void of any emotion but anger. She took a threatening step toward Katie, like she was ready to hit her just as easily as she did Brittany. Helena made no move to stop her. _

_ "No! Of course not!" she replied adamantly, shaking her head and all. She even brought her hands up slightly to defend against any potential assault. _

_ In the meantime Brittany had taken the distraction to make it to her feet. The moment they realized this she knew that they were going to get more enraged, but something was telling her that she couldn't just take it this time or they might go too far. As soon as Katie replied her eyes went wide, looking past Jenna and landing on her. All three wiped their heads around and found her on her feet. Suddenly Jenna stalked forward and used both her hands to fist the front of Brittany's shirt and pull her close, shaking her a couple of times for good measure. She kept her eye's clamped shut; just to be safe._

_ "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Trying to ruin our game?" Jenna released one of her fists and swung back, when it came back it collided with Brittany's stomach, just below her ribs effectively knocking the wind out of her. Out of impulse her eyes snapped open and she was staring right into Jenna's eyes. She had never seen someone so angry in her life. _

_ "I thought I told you not to look at me!" she snarled. Brittany out of instinct tried to make a move and brought her hand up to Jenna's wrist and tried to get out of her hold. "How dare you, place your filthy hand on me?" With that she snatched her hand back and whipped out her wand._

_ Brittany didn't know what happened after that, all she knew is that she had turned her back and threw her hands over her head in some feeble attempt to protect herself. The next thing she knew she was lying face first on the ground with the single worst pain she had ever felt coursing through her back. There was eerie silence before she heard Bethilda's voice._

_ "Jen… What have you done…?" There was no reply. Moments later Brittany heard the soft thud of her broom hitting the ground and all four of their retreating footsteps as they ran from the field._

"I don't know how long I laid there before I made it to my feet. I eventually got to the locker room and got my wand. Good thing I had volunteered in the infirmary, because I had learned a charm or two and was able to stop the bleeding. I bandaged myself up with the first aid kit I kept in my locker." Quinn let out a breath that she hadn't even realized her had been holding as anger and sadness coursed through her veins. By now she was leaning against the wall, having to consciously hold herself up.

"I knew that I couldn't go back to that school, not after that incident, so when I got home for the summer I told my mom the truth," Quinn suddenly felt a sense of relief, and her fear started to subside, "That I couldn't survive another year at school without Quidditch and I didn't want to return to Beauxbatons since they had discontinued the program." Suddenly her anger retuned again and she didn't know if the tears that had pooled in her eyes were more out of sadness or frustration. "I told her that it was my one escape from the pressures of school and my peers. It took a little convincing but she let me transfer." After a few moments, she suddenly couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Why the _hell_ did you never tell anyone?" And then Brittany gave her a look and suddenly Quinn felt like the _world's largest_ hypocrite. Even though there experiences weren't the same, and most people would think that her own situation was worse because A) It has gone on longer and B) It was her own family that hurt her, something about Brittany's look told her that she knew _exactly_ why she never said anything. There was a long silence and Brittany looked directly into Quinn's eyes, her own showing their first tears of the evening.

"My dad was a bad person." She said simply, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Quinn could no longer hold herself up and she slowly slid to the floor, ignoring the scratches she was getting on her back from the stone wall.

"You told me and Santana that he left when you were eight..? You never said..,"

"He _did_ leave when I was eight, Q. I just never told you about the police that had taken him away." Quinn took a moment to try to process that. She couldn't believe just how skewed her perception had been of her seemingly innocent blonde friend had been before this.

"Santana has spent holiday with you on several occasions, I'm having a hard time believing that she never knew about-"

"It's kind of an unspoken rule at my house not to say a word about him. So as far as San knows he's just a dead beat dad." Suddenly her voice started to get thick with emotion. "He didn't like that I could do magic… Some of my earliest memories are of him coming in my room and yelling at me because my toys had come to life again. I couldn't help it Quinn, honest; it just happened but he didn't understand and he got angrier and _angrier_."

At that Brittany let the small room fill with silence, letting the implications of those words sink in. Quinn new exactly what she meant by that and she knew she had more in common with the blonde than she ever realized.

"Before my mom was a workaholic and was never home and my dad stayed at home. One day my mom had used her lunch break to run home and grab something she needed for work. I happened to have no school that day and was at home," she was no longer looking at Quinn but rather gazing out of the small window. "She came in to find my dad kicking me in the living room and yelling at me. He had caught me talking to Lord Tubbington… And Lord Tubbington was talking back." After a long pause she continued. "Everything after that was kind of a blur, she kept saying sorry and that it was her fault, which I still don't understand. I mean it's not like she was then one who had been hitting me and saying mean things," Then a small, contemplative frown adorned her face. "If anyone should have been apologizing it should have been him."

Quinn watched as Brittany had brought her knees to her chest and hugged them. She hadn't even realized that a few of her own tears had escaped her eyes whilst listening to her friend.

"The police took him away and that was the last time I ever saw him. I _know_ you get why I didn't tell anyone about him." She looked at Quinn pointedly, and Quinn fought the impulse to break eye contact. Yeah, she defiantly got it.

"He left Q. I didn't say anything and he went away."

"Brittany..,"

"Those girls harassed me so I didn't say anything and they went away, too."

"Brittany please..,"

"I just want you to know that I understand." she says, echoing her earlier statement, this time it hit Quinn much deeper. For a long time neither of them said anything and Quinn was sure that her heart was pounding loud enough in her chest that Brittany could hear it. "But, I was wrong."

Quinn didn't understand, not saying anything and hoping it went away had obviously worked for her friend, how could it be wrong then?

"But, you just said...-"

"I was lucky Quinn.., if my mom hadn't stopped home on her lunch break I don't know what would have happened… And if the Quidditch program hadn't been canceled at Beauxbattons, I would have returned the next year, because I'm not a liar but I still wouldn't have said anything about them," Brittany wasn't going to push Quinn into saying anything about herself, but she paused when she saw the wheels turning in friends mind.

"He hits me. He says that I'm an abomination, a spawn from Satan himself...," she pauses, her voice thick with emotion, but she forces herself to continue. "He thinks he's a God damn religious saint, but he quotes the bible at me _while_ he _beats_ me! How backwards is _that_?" At this Brittany leaves her from her spot on the stairs and sits next to Quinn.

"I can't tell you how exactly… but, somehow it will be okay. Somehow it will all work itself out."

"How have you done it, B? How are you not so angry that it spills over when you can't suppress it anymore?" She brings her hand up and wipes some stray tears from her cheeks.

"I was lucky," she says again. "I know it gets harder the older you get, but I got lucky. After I transferred here I found you and San and suddenly everything was okay. I found my person, the one for me. Suddenly I didn't have to keep it all locked up because when someone called me stupid or made some homophobic comment, she was right there stopping them and defending me. Eventually I fell for her and her for me and everything was okay. It made it easier to keep the past in the past. Besides, I never really got angry about any of it. I kind of always felt like I had somehow done something to deserve it, I mean why else would they-"

"Britt, that's ridiculous, you would never deserve-"

"I know that now. Well, mostly. But, it's how I felt..,"

After a long time of sitting there in silence, Brittany got to her feet and began running her hands down her shirt, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. She raised a hand to wipe away a stray tear that had escaped her eye in a moment of weakness. She was trying to be strong for Quinn; after all, she was the one who had brought all this up. Finally she took a deep breath to smooth her resolve.

"I'm going to tell San," she nodded to herself a little, as a way to convince herself that that was exactly what she was going to do. There was a flash of alarm in Quinn's eyes, even though it went unspoken that Brittany wasn't going to mention a single thing about Quinn; that's just how she was. "I'm sorry that you are going to have to deal with an upset Santana for a while, I know she can be hard to handle like that sometimes..,"

"Are you sure about this, Britt?" She knew it had to be done, it was the right thing to do, but she also feared for her friend's relationship. "I mean I know she loves you, but she may take this, you not telling her, harder than you think, I mean you guys might..,"

"I know." Brittany's voice cut her off, though she wasn't planning on finishing that sentence, the thought too hard to really imagine. "I know, but it's not really the kind of thing you should keep from the love of your life," Now she gave a small smile, this time there was a familiar light there in her eyes, the thought 'much better' ghosted across Quinn's mind as she watch her, "not if you plan to marry them someday and spend the rest of your life with them."

Quinn had never been religious, despite her upbringing, because the way her father treated her, but in that moment she gave out a silent prayer to whatever may be, that Santana took this okay, and did not let any feelings of betrayal she may have before her sense of understanding.

"Thank you Quinn, for everything." Quinn couldn't feel how backward that sounded, it was her thanking Brittany. But, before she was able to say anything, the blonde was already up the short staircase and out of the broom closet.

She knew one thing for sure: she wasn't going to let Brittany's confession to her go over her head and go to waste. She may not be ready to out herself about what has been going on in her home, but she was going to make a conscious effort not to just take it laying down, hoping it will go away. Because Brittany was right, she had been lucky, and it just didn't happen like that. Her first step will be to approach Rachel when she gets a chance and see if it's not too late to join her family over the Holidays. She had to start taking control of her life.

Quinn opted to stay in the broom closet for an undetermined amount of time after Brittany left. She had no idea if the girl had the intention of going straight to her girlfriend and confessing, but Quinn knew that she couldn't chance being near the two so soon after. Santana could be unusually hyper aware of Brittany and if Quinn happened to be around and something went down she may have been able to put two and two together without her blonde saying a single word. Despite knowing that Brittany wasn't going to say a word about her, she knew that their lives would be changed forever once told she Santana. And, she knew that it would eventually all come full circle and land back on her. It was only a matter of time.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay so there it is. I have another part mostly written out so let me know if you want to see more. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so here is the second installment that really shouldn't have taken as long as it did to get posted. It was mostly done when I posted the first part, but than college kicked in and I have had essay after essay due so I had to time to finish this as I wanted to. I don't care for the ending, but I felt the need to write something so I could post and move onto the next part if anyone want me to continue. :) Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: No, I own not Glee nor Harry Potter.**

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><p>Quinn collapsed on to bed and just stared at the canopy above. She felt more emotionally drained than she could ever remember being. So many thoughts were racing through her head. Brittany knew. Brittany <em>understood<em>. It was something that she was sure would take some time for her to fully wrap her mind around. Part of her was hoping that when she woke up that this was all just a horribly cruel dream, but the logical part of her told her otherwise. Slowly she began to drift off to sleep, too tired to get up and change out of her uniform.

The next morning Quinn accidentally slept through breakfast and was awoke by Rachel entering her room.

"Rachel..?" her voice was groggy and she had to blink her eyes a couple times to fight the tiredness she was still feeling.

"Hello Quinn, I noticed that you weren't down at breakfast, so I came to check on you. I brought you some bacon and toast." She reached over and placed a hand on Quinn's forehead, "You're not sick again, are you?" she asked, concern clearly evident her voice. Quinn sat up against her pillows and reached for a piece of bacon and shook her head.

"No, I'm okay, I just… didn't sleep that restfully; I kept having these weird dreams. Thank you for bringing me some food. I can't believe that I slept through breakfast."

"Of course," with that Rachel smiled. "Now I have to get going, I promised that I would help one of the underclassmen with their transfigurations essay this morning during my free period. You should eat up and get dressed quickly. First period will be starting soon." With that she leaned over and gave Quinn a quick kiss before heading toward the door. Quinn was thankful that she hadn't commented on the fact she was still dressed in her uniform from the previous day, it would have been hard to explain. Just as she opened the door Quinn stopped her.

"Wait!" she licked her lips, a nervous habit.

"What is it Quinn?"

"Umm... I was wondering… Is it too late to take you up on that offer to spend the holidays with your folks?" Rachel's eyes lit up at this, to say she was surprised would be an understatement, but more than that she was relieved that Quinn would be out of harm's way.

"But, what about your parents? I thought they were really strict about things like this. Especially about Christmas?" Rachel was concerned, but she had to try really hard to conceal her excitement. Quinn shrugged.

"I've been thinking… I mean I'm a grown woman and I can make these kinds of decisions for myself. So this year I am going to try to take some control over my life and do this." She nodded to herself; much like Brittany did the night before, as a way of convincing herself that that was exactly what she was going to do. "That is, if it's not too late?"

"I'm sure it won't be a problem. I'm going to go send an owl to my dad's right away and tell them that there will indeed be a plus one joining us this year." Rachel threw her girlfriend the brightest smile she could muster. Quinn silently thanked Brittany for this.

"What about the kid you were going to help?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, Cory will be fine if I'm a little late. I'll see you later Quinn!" With that Rachel exited Quinn's room and headed down the staircase, she couldn't wait to inform Santana of this new development. Nothing could lower her mood today. Curiously enough, Rachel hadn't come across either Santana or Brittany the whole day.

Three days later and there was still no sign of Brittany and Santana, and Rachel was starting to get worried. She had been taking Quinn's silence on the subject as to mean that this kind of disappearance of the duo was something that has happened before but three days was a long time and she was getting worried despite her best efforts to keep calm.

Rachel was currently nibbling on a piece of toast listening to the morning chatter in the great hall while Quinn poured over the latest issue of the daily prophet. She couldn't keep her thoughts to herself any longer.

"Have you seen Brittany or Santana around?"

"I haven't seen them sense we went our separate ways Monday, when you and Santana had those essays due." Quinn didn't lower the paper when she talked; trying to pass off the question like it wasn't a big deal. Unlike Brittany, she could lie, but she decided to keep to half-truths: lying by omission. She felt a little less guilty that way.

"Is that normal for them?" Rachel didn't seem as convinced as she was trying to be about it not being a big deal. This time Quinn lowered the paper and looked at her girlfriend and gave her a small smile, to show just how much it didn't bother her.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Half-truths. That's what she was sticking to. It was true that they pulled at least one vanishing act similar to this every year, even before they were involved. She just didn't mention that it was usually right before Valentine's Day. That seemed too put Rachel at ease, at least temporarily. Quinn had known the moment that they didn't show up after her chat with Brittany that the girl had gone straight to Santana after all.

It was a week after Brittany had cornered Quinn that Santana had finally resurfaced. Rachel had been tense the last couple of days, and Quinn had been avoiding the subject all together. She could no longer deny that she was feeling nervous over her friend's absences. So imagine their surprise when they were eating their lunch in silence when an angry Santana stalked into the Great Hall and sat down across from them, a scowl planted firmly on her face.

"Santana?" It was Rachel who spoke. Santana could be heard mumbling angrily under her breath, while glaring at the plate in front of her.

"I hate McGonagall; I can't believe she's making me… Ugh!"

"Santana, what happened? Where have you been?" Quinn knew it was not wise for Rachel to be asking her so many questions when the girl was so obviously fuming, but her own fear and desire to know the answers to those very questions kept her mouth shut. "Where's Brittany?"

"Would you just shut your damn mouth Hobbit? You-"

"Santana!" Now Quinn found her voice.

"-don't see _Fabray_ asking a million questions." Santana had tuned her glare on her and just as quickly as she found her voice she lost it. She looked at Quinn pointedly, her gaze never wavering. She knew. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Santana had figured it out. Rachel was caught glancing between the two before she landed on Santana, just as said girl had turned back to her.

"If you must know she's taking some time off from school and seeing as the Holidays are just a week away, I'll be joining her soon." She smiled cheekily at the brunette before standing abruptly and stalking down the hall toward the exit. As she reached the end of the table she scooped up an abandoned glass and chucked it at the doors to the Great Hall as she passed. Multiple heads tuned at the sound of shattering glass.

"What was that all about? Quinn?" Quinn didn't respond though, she was still staring after the long gone latina.

The next few days were hell for the student body at Hogwarts. Santana had effectively frozen out both Quinn and Rachel and was walking around at her near worst at all times. She had gotten herself thrown out of multiple classes; it wouldn't be stretch to think she was doing it on purpose. One professor had figured this too be the case and had refused to kick the girl out, that was until Santana had proceeded to 'accidentally' break seven rather expensive beakers.

Quinn had final had enough of the girls outrageous behavior and decided to confront her friend. Thankfully she had been given the password to Santana's private room she got from being a prefect at the beginning of the year, for '_emergencies only_' as the girl had stressed. She had never used it before now, even when she felt she really needed to talk to her, too afraid of walking in on her best friends _doing it_. Her plan was simple; she was going to go in there and sit all night if she had to and wait for her friend to show. She wasn't expecting to find said friend standing over her open trunk, throwing clothes into it. She already looked slightly less homicidal than she did earlier that day.

"Where are you going?" it was a stupid question, she already knew the answer: to Brittany.

"I have to give that old bat credit, she held out a little longer than I expected. I think that the stunt I pulled with Professor Brockburn and the beakers was the final straw." After she threw a few more things in her trunk she finally looked at Quinn, her hostility back in full swing.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have a house elf to tend to?"

"Santana!" She replied, trying to suppress her own anger. She hadn't come here to get into an argument, especially one about something stupid as this. There was a thick silence that fell over the room.

"Fine! What the hell do you want Q?" Santana had her arms crossed over her chest, her defenses so high a giant couldn't see past them.

"How did you know..?" It came out quieter than either of them expected, but Santana heard it clearly.

"Don't be mad at Britt, she didn't say a word. I had already figured it out for myself. I think I've kind of always known," The fact that Brittany hadn't said anything was already a given to Quinn, that's why she wanted to know how Santana knew. "I mean she didn't even admit that you had been in the astronomy tower with her until I told her that I had an idea what was going on when you went home. She wouldn't either confirm or deny my suspicions and anything you may have told her up there is still between the two of you."

"But, _how_ did you know?"

"I don't know Q! I just did, not consciously at first, I mean I figured something was off, but it wasn't until the last year or so that it all fell into place and started making sense. Why do you think I always push you, huh? I need to otherwise you would explode with all that repressed anger. I wish that Brittany got angry; maybe this whole mess could have been dealt with sooner... Anger I understand, victims guilt, not so much…" there was still an edge to Santana's voice, even as she started to speak to herself more than Quinn. It was clear she was just expressing all the frustration she was feeling over everything, not just her. There was a long pause before Quinn broke it, trying to keep her tears from falling.

"If it's any consolation, I'm spending the Holidays with Rachel and her dads." She offered up, hoping it would settle the air between them, even just a little. It seemed to work because Santana visibly softened, relief was evident in her face. Then she went back to putting things in her trunk.

"Thank God… Q, you are my best friend, but I honestly don't think I would have ever been able to forgive you if you had gone back there this holiday after Britt had just confided in you." Quinn could hear just how serious Santana was being, and also picked up on how relieved she seemed that it wasn't the case.

"Can you thank her for me? When you see her? I never got a chance too, she took off to quick and I mean she thanked me which feels so backward…"

"Tell her yourself," it wasn't supposed to be rude, but Santana was still on edge. Taking a deep breath and tried again, "look, if you have a few free days over the holiday maybe you and Berry could come to Britt's, I'm sure she would be happy to see you." Satisfied with the current air between them Quinn felt like it was safe to inquire on her friends actions.

"S, not that I don't admire your determination, and arguably romantic actions these last few days, do you think getting yourself kicked out of the school was maybe not the wisest decision? I bet you racked up _so_ many detentions, besides, I can't imagine Britt's not in safe hands."

Santana made a weird snorting noise; like she had to try any suppress a laugh. "Oh yeah, I think I easily broke the record for most detentions acquired in a single day. I have enough to last me months, but I'm sure that McG will have cut them down by the time we get from the break. I mean the only reason I even did any of that was because she wasn't going to excuse any of my classes this week. I mean she expected me to just sit here and go to class like I wasn't just leaving Britt alone with her mom and her _new boyfriend_." At this her voice started to take a sharp edge. "B said that he seemed like a nice guy, but in light of recent revelations I have taken it upon myself to thoroughly check him out. She also tried to make me promise that I'd be nice, but I had to remind her that I don't make promises I can't keep."

Quinn didn't know what to say to that, so instead she just nodded. She continued to stand there and watch Santana pack some more clothes. When her friend was done, she closed the suitcase and rounded on the blonde.

"Oh, and Britt says that you can tell Berry, you know, to keep her from worrying or whatever." She shrugs slightly, "Though, I personally would advise you don't say a word 'til you're ready to answer a tough question or two about yourself, 'cause it's bound to come up. Now, I have to get going, McG opened a temporary floo connection to Britt's. Keep in touch over holiday, okay?"

"Yeah," Quinn replied, moving to the side to let Santana pass, "and, I'll make sure to ask Rachel about visiting." With that, Quinn followed her from the room, dreading her coming conversation with her girlfriend. How was she going to react, being the last to be told? She feared her reaction over her own situation more than with Brittany. Rachel was her girlfriends, she should have been told first, right? Quinn could only hope that Rachel wouldn't be too upset at her.

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><p><strong>AN: There we have the crappy ending to a chapter that I had originally had inspiration to write. Ohs wells... As per usual, I will try to get at another chapter soon if anyone out there wants to hear more of the story XD**


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